Injustice is revealed through the contrast of the free bird and the caged bird. The caged bird

is presented as though his dreams are unattainable.

“Caged bird stands on the grave of dreams” in this quotation the poet uses a metaphor to explain how the caged bird’s dreams are unattainable and how he stands on the grave os showing that he knows that his dreams are unattainable.

This shows that the caged bird will never achieve his dreams while the free bird who is prosperous and has liberty can, lets link back to the civil rights movement this shows the struggle of black people to achieve the American dream

In the poem ‘Caged bird’ Maya Angelou explores the theme of injustice through comparing two birds in the poem. This can be seen in the quote “And dips his wing in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky / His wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.” This shows us that one bird has freedom and the other doesn’t. In the phrase “his wings are clipped and his feet are tied” the use of personification shows us that the caged bird doesn’t have freedom and does not have privileges like the free bird. Unlike the free bird, it has privileges, this can be seen in the phrase “orange sun rays” this shows us that the free bird get vitality and experience and also has more privileges than the caged bird. The word “His” shows us the use of anaphora and tells us that the caged bird has personal pronouns which humanizes the caged bird and gives it an identity. These two quotes reveals social injustice which creates a life where some a re free and some are not. 

 

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The poet Maya Angelou, explores the theme of injustice in her poem between the freedom White people get and the prejudice and torture African Americans gets. This is evident in the line of the caged bird “can seldom see through/his bars of rage”. Not only does this line signifies that the caged bird can rarely see through his imprisonment of frustration and injustice which also could symbolise that he has never been free but also, gives a sense of that he could barely react to the frustration and prejudice he is getting.

Angelou explores the theme of injustice through the contrasting ideas of a caged bird and free bird, both of which are metaphors related to the aforementioned theme, with the caged bird representing oppression and the free bird representing freedom and privilege. When she writes “But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams”, the poet uses the metaphor “grave of dreams” to imply how much more limited opportunities African-American people received during the period of racial injustice in  the U.S.A. - something that Angelou experienced during her childhood. Contrastingly, the line “and he names the sky his own” uses personification to indicate that the free bird - an analogy for Caucasian people who didn’t experience the same struggles and that had almost unlimited opportunities. The contrast between these two differing ideas gives the reader a new perspective and could move them emotionally.

This is shown through, “and his tune is heard/ on a distant hill/ for the caged bird/ sings of freedom.” The ‘tune’ conveys the caged bird’s passion about his freedom. In addition to that, it also shows that he perfected his message over time, making his message clear to those who hear it. Moreover, “a distant hill” shows the caged bird’s desire for his message to spread wide, but the people on the hill choose to ignore the voice; however, it could also mean that the bird’s message was considered by the people on the ‘distant hill’ .This links to the civil rights movement, where African Americans were protesting for their freedom, but the Caucasians neglected and protested against their cry for help. 

This creates a feeling of sympathy towards the caged bird, as it longs for freedom, but never gets what it prospers.